He is jealous for me.
Loves like a hurricane.
I am a tree.
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden I am unaware
Of these afflictions eclipsed by glory.
And I realize just how beautiful you are,
And how great your affection is for me.
O how he loves us so.
O how he loves us.
How he loves us so.
We are his portion,
And he is our prize.
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes.
If his grace is an ocean,
We're all sinking.
Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest.
I don't have the time to maintain these regrets.
When I think about.....the way.....
He loves us...
O how he loves us.
O how he loves......
David Crowder Band
How He Loves Us
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Edwards On God's Glory
So God glorifies himself towards the creatures also two ways: (1) by appearing to them, being manifested to their understandings; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. They both of them may be called his glory in the more extensive sense of the word, viz. his shining forth, or the going forth of his excellency, beauty and essential glory ad extra. By one way it goes forth towards their understandings; by the other it goes forth towards their wills or hearts. God is glorified not only by his glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in, when those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it; his glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart. God made the world that he might communicate, and the creature receive, his glory, but that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his having an idea of God's glory don't glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it. Both these ways of God's glorifying himself come from the same cause, viz. the overflowing of God's internal glory, or an inclination in God to cause his internal glory to flow out ad extra. What God has in view in neither of them, neither in his manifesting his glory to the understanding nor communication to the heart, is not that he may receive, but that he [may] go forth: the main end of his shining forth is not that he may have his rays reflected back to himself, but that the rays may go forth.
Jonathan Edwards [1722], The "Miscellanies": (Entry Nos. a-z, aa-zz, 1-500) (WJE Online Vol. 13) , Ed. Harry S. Stout [word count] [jec-wjeo13].
Saturday, October 03, 2009
What Is The Gospel?
Notes from What Is The Gospel? By Tim Keller
A Worldview
Gospel means good news. So what is the gospel? The gospel is a worldview. It is a grid through which we view all other things in life. It is not something that we believe once for all time to "get into Christianity" and move on in our lives trying our best to be morally right in our actions. It is not a moralistic worldview; one that believes we gain favor with God by our good actions and lose favor by our failures. This is the worldview of the elder brother in Luke 15 who does "what is right" but looks down on his younger brother who repents and turns from his tremendous sin. This is the worldview of the Pharisees of Jesus time who compared themselves to others with less tarnished lives thinking themselves superior. The gospel has a fullness of meaning which can only be described by breaking it down into it's parts or aspects and understood by combining those aspects into a worldview. Each aspect of the gospel describes part of the truth but gives only a part. Christian churches themselves can fail because they stress one aspect of the gospel without acknowledging the other aspects. There are three main aspects of the gospel.
I. Historical/Doctrinal Aspect
The gospel is news about what Jesus has done not primarily advice on how to live. It is good news, not good advice (primarily). Good news salvation is that we are saved by what Jesus has done. Good advice salvation is that we are saved by following the teaching that is given to you. The truth is that God came down and inserted himself physically into the world in history in order to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial atoning death and rise in victory in the body. We are saved by what he has done, not what we do. It is dependent on the fact that Christ lived, died and rose in history for our sins. It is not primarily advice on how to live, although it does teach us this, but the declaration of what God has done. Why because you are saved by grace.
Nutshell: Jesus lived the life I should have lived and died the death that I should have died (as my substitute), so that God can receive me not for my record and my sake, but for Jesus' record and for Jesus' sake.
II. Identity Aspect
The gospel is a status we receive now not just primarily a reward we will receive later. The gospel establishes our status now as sons and daughters of the Father in heaven. Righteously seen by God because Christ's righteousness is credited to us and our sin is laid on Jesus at the cross and paid for (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are dearly loved by God for the sake of Christ. Our salvation is not dependent on maintaining sinlessness after conversion as if we are being given a second chance, but on God's love for Jesus and us because of what Jesus has done. We therefore are assured of our salvation because we are the children of God now and our persistence as children is not dependent in any way on our actions after we believe. We do right things because we love God not because we need to to maintain our position with God. Why because we are saved by grace?
Nutshell: You are more wicked and flawed than you ever dared believe but you are more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope at the same time. Simultaneously both just and sinful.
III. Kingdom Aspect
The gospel is a complete reversal of values in our daily lives leading to an establishment of the kingdom of God in part here on earth to be perfected in eternity. It is not just a new strength to live the life you had before faith according to the world's system and values. The gospel is received by admitting our spiritual bankruptcy not by what good we bring. It is only when we give up the right to determine our own life that we get the power of God. Jesus, the King of kings, came to earth as a baby in a manger. The gospel is received, achieved and reunites in ways that are in reverse of what you would expect. The first shall be last. Those who serve shall be greatest. God loves to work through the weak, the marginal, and poor.
Nutshell: The way up is down, the way to real power is to give up coercive power and serve others, the way into God is to go to the margins in repentance and faith.
The Core of the Gospel
The thread that runs through the three aspects and ties them together is that we are saved by grace. All three are necessary to understand the gospel and apply it to our lives and the glue is God's grace.
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